The ultimate guide to fixing water damage within the home

There are few more devastating afflictions your home can endure than water damage. You may find mould appearing around your property, damp patches meandering down your walls, sodden timber joists or excess moisture in certain rooms. Unwanted water can cause extensive damage within your home if it is not repaired quickly. However, it is not simply leaky taps and damp that can be the cause; there are other sources of water damage that often don’t get the attention they deserve.

It doesn’t matter whether you live in a swanky penthouse, a basement flat or a three-bed suburban semi, water damage can occur within your humble abode. Take a look at this guide that will help you fix the water damage within your home to create a happy, healthy and safe living environment once again.

Locate The Source

Water damage can often come from the unlikeliest of places. While you may assume that there is a leak in your roof if you spy some damp patches forming around your window frames, it could also be your guttering or loose flashing that is causing the problem. If there is a musty smell in your kitchen and you look under your sink to spot a leak, this could be a simple washer problem or a more serious broken pipe. Wherever the water damage is in your house, don’t always presume the obvious. You may need to call upon the services of a damp proofingspecialist who can come and assess the damage, locate the source and then complete the necessary repairs. Of course, if you are handy with a spot of DIY, you can have a go yourself at trying to locate the source, but it always pays to involve the experts when needed.

Repairs

Hopefully, the damage that the unwanted water has caused in your home looks worse than it is. The odd puddle beneath a tap or on the floor will hopefully be nothing more than a weak seal or faulty washer which can be easily replaced.

If the water damage is extensive or has been building up over a period of time, you may require further reparations than you were expecting. Water damage can penetrate deep into plaster and timbers meaning that structural damagewithin buildings caused by water is not unheard of. If your drywall is destroyed, you will need a specialist to come into your home to construct a new one. If your roof is lacking slate or isn’t watertight, you’ll need to call upon the services of a roofer to retile and seal. Often black mould or furry spores can appear within our humble abodes. This needs removing immediately, and the cause needs to be identified and repaired for health and safety reasons.

Renovate

Often, the damage is cosmetic, and while it looks horrendous after the repairs have been carried out, you will need to head to your local showroom to pick up an ex-display bathroom suite or some kitchen units depending on where the water damage occurred. Alongside a spot of redecoration, you can bring a sense of normality to your home once again.

For health reasons, it’s vital that you redecorate and remodelquickly after water damage has been repaired. The lingering spores from black mould can cause breathing difficulties for those people with asthma. Musty, damp and moist air can ruin clothing and provide the ideal environment in which bacteria and viruses can thrive. Don’t live in a building site, get rid of the mould and retile, repaint and recarpet where necessary.

Flooding

Natural disasters such as flash flooding have been occurring more frequently of late as flood defenses become old and the weather tends to be more temperamental and unusual. If your home is affected by flooding, there is very little you can do other than try to get your valuable belongings high enough so that the water does not damage them. Unfortunately, your home will require significant drying out before you can even consider rectifying the damage that the flooding has caused. Timbers, walls, and flooring will all need replacing, and while this can be expensive, this should be covered by your home insurance policy.

We all like to think of our homes as our sanctuary, and we try to protect it from the elements as much as we can. While you might be more concerned about the aesthetics of your property, it’s essential not to forget the structural elements of our homes. However well maintained your humble abode is, it can always be damaged by water, so it’s vital that when the devastating effects begin to appear you make the necessary repairs promptly.